Lies, damned lies. Donald Trump’s first news conference since Kamala Harris became the Democrats’ candidate for president was bursting with bullshit, including:
■ … “a hair-raising story” about almost dying in a helicopter ride alongside Harris’ ex-boyfriend …
■ … and his assertion that he drew a D.C. crowd bigger than that for Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
■ Politico calls the conference the Trump “reset” that wasn’t.
■ The Bulwark: “Watching him wallow around yesterday, it was hard to avoid feeling a growing suspicion: Hey, you never know. Maybe Harris can crush this guy.”
■ MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell condemns TV networks for not calling out the crap in real time.
■ Columnist Edwin Eisendrath: “MAGA is built on lies that some Americans can’t live without.”
■ The Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet: “People showing up in droves to back Harris… are demonstrating their collective power to drive Trump nuts.”
Sept. 10. That’s when Trump and Harris have committed to a debate hosted by ABC …
■ … a confrontation that CNN’s Stephen Collinson says will pose “a huge test for both candidates.”
■ The New York Times: It’ll “probably be held without a live audience, but the exact format and ground rules are still being determined.”
■ Time contends these seven states will decide the presidency.
■ NOTUS spotlights the one Senate race Trump doesn’t want to lose.
■ The New Yorker’s Susan Glasser: “Does anyone in America miss Joe Biden as much as Donald Trump?”
‘Harris’s selection of Minnesota governor, dog-dad, cat-dad and people-dad Tim Walz has broken MAGA men.’ Columnist Evan Hurst: “What does a real alpha male look like? Not MAGA.”
■ Will Bunch at The Philadelphia Inquirer: “The 180-degree difference between Vance and Walz on how they view the role of higher education in today’s America … says a lot about the man and the woman at the top of their respective tickets.”
■ Lyz Lenz’s Dingus of the Week: Megyn Kelly—again— for branding Walz “Tampon Tim.”
■ Andy Borowitz jokes: “Trump Vows to Ban Menstruation.”
‘Democrats should ditch the JD Vance couch joke.’ The Intelligencer’s Benjamin Hart: “Merely stating what Vance and Trump actually believe is effective enough” …
■ … but Trump’s estranged niece Mary marvels: Trump yesterday “alluded to his ‘beautiful sofa’ without seeming to realize that sofa is a synonym for couch.”
■ For the Democratic National Convention, ex-Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s joining CBS 2 Chicago as an analyst.
‘It’s better for municipalities to be minus police officers than to hire the wrong ones.’ Reflecting on the cop killing of Sonya Massey in her Springfield home, a Tribune editorial counsels Chicago and other local governments to beware “employing officers prone to losing their cool in tense moments.”
■ CWBChicago: In a crime nearly identical to a string of incidents almost two years ago, a Wicker Park man was kidnapped from a Wrigleyville street after Tuesday night’s Cubs game by men who forced him to withdraw money from ATMs around town.
DuSable Lake Shore Drive, rethought. Planners yesterday rolled out a vision that would remove the Chicago Avenue stoplight, straighten out another curve and add acres of parkland.
■ Outside the session, public transit, bicycle and safe-streets advocates complained the plan amounts to creation of a “lakefront expressway.”
■ With Greyhound on the verge of eviction from its West Loop terminal next month, Chicago City Hall’s best idea seems to be for passengers to wait inside Union Station before boarding buses across the street.
■ The former car dealership and nightclub that was the scene of a 2003 stampede that left 21 dead has been granted a reprieve from demolition.
Yay, Chicago. The American Prospect: “Chicago Public Schools … a system that used to be ridiculed has become a model for schools in other cities.”
■ WBEZ: After a wealthy family backed out of its commitment to fund college scholarships for needy Chicago kids, the program’s ex-staffers and big-hearted members of the public have stepped up to help.
What a weekend. It begins today, the 50th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s historic resignation from the presidency …
■ … continues with the 95th annual Bud Billiken Parade Saturday morning …
■ … and the Air and Water Show Saturday and Sunday.
■ But, hey, watch out for COVID, won’t you?
■ Your turn.
Bad journalism. A Wyoming reporter outed a competitor for using artificial-intelligence-generated quotes from a liquor store owner, an astronomer and a deputy district attorney.
■ A freelance journalist writes: “I reported a piece for The New York Times on antisemitism. I found a major error, but the Times didn’t care.”
Correction. Yesterday’s Square mischaracterized the Wednesday evening edition of CNN’s Reliable Sources email newsletter about the media; it wasn’t Oliver Darcy’s last.
■ No, that came Thursday night, when Darcy wrote: “At times, the newsletter’s unflinching coverage has made people across the industry, including my bosses here at CNN, quite uncomfortable.”
■ Daily Show alumnus Roy Wood Jr.’s going to host a comedy game show for CNN beginning next month.
‘With no Public Square to enjoy on Saturday or Sunday, I actually find myself looking forward to Mondays!’ — Fresh reader praise for this service, which you can support for any amount—even just $1, once.
■ Of course, weekends are when the Square Facebook page steps up to keep you informed between editions.
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■ Mike Braden made this edition better.